VIII. Order of The King

A big event to welcome the host was held at the residence of the Black Prince.  But before going to his residence, Illarion Black or better known as the Black Prince paid his respects to King Abraham in his private resting room. The old king was still lying weakly on the bed covered by a luxurious maroon mosquito net. The Black Prince knelt down to salute the King.

"This time, it's Exilas?" asked the King a little hoarsely, but in no way reduced the charisma of the ruler of Anarka.

"That’s right, Your Majesty," replied the Black Prince curtly.

The old king chuckled. “You got a great victory, but why do you sound like you lost the war, Rion?”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” replied the Black Prince briefly once again, not the least bit interested in answering at length the King's question.

Slightly rising from the headboard of his bed, the King smiled sarcastically. "Ah, so you still hate me, Rion?"

The Black Prince was still unmoved from his spot, just staring intently at the King without showing the slightest emotion on his face. King Abraham was right, Illarion Black hated his father very much. If his hatred for Queen Minerva could be easily brought to the surface, then his hatred for King Abraham would always be buried deep within the Black Prince. Illarion Black had his reasons for acting like that.

"Thank you for the gift you gave," said King Abraham, glancing at the small glass dome containing King Exilas' ring finger complete with a preserved dragon ring of power. “It's just that your gift can't cover up the petty betrayal of the orders I've given you, Rion.”

The Black Prince knit his brows together. "You mean the king?"

"Your wife. She never once saluted me. It's not because you left her alone, right?"  said the King instead of asking. “I gave you the order to marry into the Queen's family not to insult her, Rion.”

‘Damn it!’ Black Prince cursed inwardly, then suddenly the image of a snow-white girl with beads as beautiful as amethysts flashed across his head.  “I-I will pay my respects with her, right away, Your Majesty!”  said the Black Prince a little nervously.

Hearing the panic in the Black Prince's tone, the King smiled. "Alright. This time, I think it's not a big problem. Get on with your party. You deserve to enjoy it.”

The Black Prince just nodded in response, but before he said goodbye, the King muttered under his breath. “I hope you are happy with your marriage, Rion.”

The frenetic chanting of music was heard outside the palace. The people outside the royal palace also participated in enjoying the war banquet with joy. When the Black Prince entered the banquet hall, all the nobles to the soldiers raised their glasses cheering proudly by the name of the handsome man.

"Glory to the Black Prince!" shouted General Andreas which was followed by all the guests presented here. The roar of the voice was heard outside, the people also echoed the same thing.

The Queen smiled wryly at that. As the head of the interim government, the Queen could not help but attend the event on behalf of the King. Queen Minerva was more furious when she saw the behavior of her only child at the event, Prince Alexander, who was heavily drunk danced with the women and the guests who were present were seen laughing at him.

"That 'sheep' can only humiliate me!" cursed the Queen.

“My brother! You're getting more handsome!" said Prince Alexander while hugging the Black Prince. The man with black eyes just stood stiffly without any intention of returning the warm hug.

"Ah, my spoiled brother is not like before. He always cried when I was not by her side," continued Prince Alexander, laughing while still hugging the Black Prince. The nobles were confused about Prince Alexander's joke, but they were afraid of losing their lives if they had to laugh at the Black Prince.

"Hey! I heard you're married. Why don't you invite me?" asked Prince Alexander while patting the Black Prince on the cheek, the smell of alcohol wafting from the man's mouth. The Black Prince returned the treatment with a cold stare and a hardened jaw.

“Bring Prince Alexander home!” Queen Minerva ordered who suddenly stood before them. A little commotion occurred when Prince Alexander, who was very drunk did not want to leave there and was reluctant to let go of his arms from the Black Prince.

“Congratulations on your victory, Prince Illarion,” said Queen Minerva with a smile that seemed forced. "I will go home, as well as Prince Alexander-" came the screams of Prince Alexander who wanted to go back to the party venue, "Hey, who wanted to go home? Definitely not me," he continued.

The Black Prince who wore all black clothes with a golden lion ornament on his chest that night, seemed to smile cynically while tilting his head. "A sheep."

‘Sheep? You call Prince Alexander a sheep?!’  shrieked Queen Minerva as her eyes widened.  ‘How dare this rotten brat dares to insult my son!’ cursed the Queen of Anarka in her heart.  The guests looked tense at the debate and started eavesdropping.

The Black Prince raised an eyebrow. “I only offer lamb bolsters, Queen. Weren't you the one who said 'Prince Alexander is a sheep'?"  he asked back, laughing slyly.

Queen Minerva clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white then turned to leave the Black Prince's residence. He didn't want to argue any further with the Black Prince at an event filled with the handsome man's minions and colleagues. The party atmosphere that had previously heated up was back to lively as before.

The Black Prince was bored, he seemed to sneak onto the balcony avoiding the crowds of the party. And Andreas who saw it followed him out of the room.

"Oh, you’re here, Your Highness?” cried Andreas.

The Black Prince turned around with a lazy look in his eyes. "Why are you here?  Can't you just stay in there?"  said Illarion Black annoyed.

Andrew smiled. "Was the show unpleasant, Your Highness?  Or do you want some girls in bed to accompany you?” The Black Prince's loyal bodyguard still insisted on making the Black Prince happy tonight. They had been at war for four months and won a big victory, that's something to celebrate instead of sitting alone on the balcony, right?

Hearing the word 'girl', Illarion suddenly remembered the figure that had been weighing on his mind for a long time. "Where's the girl?  I haven't seen her before."

Andreas furrowed his brows looking confused.  "Who?"

"Tsk, what's that girl's name? White? Something White? Ah! I forget!" Illarion asked himself more.

Andreas still didn't understand which girl the Black Prince suddenly remembered. This was so rare that even he himself as the person who was always by the Black Prince's side, did not remember a single girl being close to the dark-haired man.

“The family of Queen Minerva that I married,” explained the Black Prince.

“You mean the lady with that strange look?” asked Andreas in surprise. They had been on the battlefield for four months, and now Illarion could fuck any woman he wanted. But why did he suddenly remember the woman with the pale skin?

"Where is she?  Why did she never even greet the King? Wasn't she taught the manners of being a lady?" asked Illarion back ignoring the astonished Andreas.

“I guess because she doesn't have access to the kingdom. She's still at his original residence, Duke Broke's house.”

Illarion looked surprised.  “Wait… you mean she's still there?”

“Didn't you yourself say kill any spies living in Black castle, Your Highness? And the girl was definitely a spy. Also, it’s impossible for you to left her in the palace while we went to war, right, Your Highness?” Andreas said assuring that the decision to leave the girl at her parents' house was the right thing to do.

"So, she's still at Duke-ah's house, what was his name earlier, the one in Sulli?"

Andreas nodded, still puzzled. "If you wish, I will ask her to appear before you tomorrow, Your Highness," offered the cavalry general. The distance between Sulli and the royal capital of Anarka was not that far, but Andreas still didn't want the Black Prince to spend time with that sick woman.

"Oh, shit! No wonder the King said so," Illarion exclaimed. "You will follow me tomorrow in a horse-drawn carriage. We have to pick up the girl. Hurry up!"  the Black Prince ordered before jumping off the balcony then disappearing from Andreas' sight.

"That girl is a bother, Your Highness," growled Andreas, who could not stop the Black Prince from leaving.